Valve and flue arrangement for reversing regenerative furnaces.



Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

L. L. KNOX. VALVE AND PLUE ARRANGEMBNT FOR REVERSING REGBNERATIVE PURNAGES.

APPLICATION FILED APR.19, 1913.

WITN ESSES mmm L.L.KN0X. l VALVE AND-FLUE ARRANGEMENT POR RBVERSING REGENBRATIVE FURNACES.

APPLICATION FILED APB.. 19, 1913.

Patented Feb. 1'?, 1914.

e SHEETS-SHEET?.

WITNESSES @we 011m 4 L. L. KNOX. VALVE AND PLUB ARRANGEMBNT PoR RBVERSING RBG'BNBRATIVB PURNACBS APPLICATION FILED 111111.19, 1913. 1,087, l 24;. l Patelltd Feb. 17, 1914.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

L. L. KNOX. VALVE AND PLUB ARRANGEMENT FOR RBVBRSING RBGBNERATIVB FURNAGES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 19, 1913. 1,087,124, Patented Feb. 17. 1914.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

L. L. KNOX. y VALVE AND FLUE ARRANGEMENT POR REVERSING REGENERATIVE PURNAGBS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 19, 1913. Y

Patented Feb. 1'7,v 1914.

e SHEETS-SHEET 5.

mvENTon WITN ESSES L. LKNOX. 'VALVE ND FLUE ARRANGEMBNT POR REVBRSING' REGENERATIVE FURNAOES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 19, 1913. 1,087, 24 Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

e SHEETS-SHEET e.

UNITED STATES PATENT onirica.

LUTHER L. KNOX, 0F AVALON,'PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO` KNOX PRESSED &

WELDED STEEL coMrANY, or PITTSBURGH, TN'NSYLVANIA, A conroRATroN or PENNSYLVANIA.

VALVE AND FLUE ARRANGEMENT FOR REVEBSING REGENERATIVE FUBNACES.

Specication of Letters Patent. I

Patented Feb. 1 7, 1914.

Application iled April 19, 1913. Serial No. 762,227.

State of Pennsylvania, have inventeda new.

and useful Improvement in Valve and Flue Arrangement for Reversing Regenerative Furnaces. of which the followin is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in whichi Figure l is a vertical section of one form of valve and flue arrangement embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical section showing one of the air inlet valves; Fig; 3 is a view partly in plan and partly in horizontal section of the arrangement shown in Fig. l; Fig. et is a view similar to Fig. l,

but showing a modification; Fig. 5 is a viewpartly in plan and partly in horizontal section of the arrangement shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the reversing valve proper; Fig. 7 is a similar view of the valve-seating member; Fig. 8 is a section on the line VIII-VIII of Fig. 7, but with the valve in place; and Fig. 9 is a section on the line IIC-IX of Fig. 6.

My invention has relation to a novel valve and Hue arrangement for controlling the tlo'w of air and gas to reversing regenerative furnaces.

One object of my invention is to provide a water-cooled gas-reversing valve of simple,

novel and efficient character, in which the parts are thoroughly protected by the watercooling, which is so arranged as to prevent the hot gases from coming into contact with the sealing water, which will form a perfect seal in both of its positions, and which can he readily andieasily` operated.

A further object of my invention is to provide a novel valve and Hue arrangement in which the flow of gas in maintained at substantially the same level, up and down passes of the gas through the gas-reversing valve heilig obviated.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a. flue and valve arrangement in which an air-reversing valve may be dispensed with and the flow of air can be controlled by the use of simple dampers.v

Further objects and advantages of my ilivention will hereinafter appear.

The nature of my invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which I have shown the preferred embodiments thereof and whichv will now be described,'it being premised,

however, that various changes lmay be made in the details of constructionl and arrangement of the various parts, Without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Referring firstto the arrangement shown in'Figs. 1 and 3, the numeral 2 designates the masonry Work which forms thesetting for the valve and in which the air and gas flues areformed.

3 designates the gas inlet iue having thev inlet opening 4.

5 is the valve chamber for the gas-reversing valve, hereinafter described.

6 is one of the `lues leading from the chamber 5 to t-he regenerators and thence to the furnace, and 7 is the other gas flue leading from the chamber 5 to the regenerators and to the opposite end of the furnace in the usual manner.

8 is a stack flue leading from the chamber 5 to the stack 9.'

10 designates one of the 4air flues leading to the regenerators, and 1'1 the other air flue leading to the regenerators. These two flues communicate wlth a common flue 12, leading'to the stack 9, this flue 12 being directly underneath the flues 3 and 8 and the Fig. 1, so as to give a better draft through the respective fines. The communication be tween the air flue 10 and the stack Hue 12 is controlled by avertically movable damper 15, of suitable character, preferably watercooled. A similar damper 16 controls the communication between the air Hue 11 and the stack flue 12. rlhe air flue .10 is provided With an air inlet 17 beyond the dam per 15, and the air flue 12 has a similar inlet beyond the damper 16. Each of these inlets is controlled by lift valve 18, one of The' numeral 22 designates a` vertically movable damper in the gas Hue 6, adjacent to the chamber 5, and 23 designates a similar damper in the air Hue 7. These dampers may-be of any suitable character, preferably water-cooled. v

l will now describe the gas-reversing valve, shown generally,`in Figs. l, 3, 4 and 5, yand which, with its seating member, is

shown in detail in igs. 6, 7, 8 and 9. The

seating member for this valve consists of a cruciform base 24, the arms of which are` made hollow for the circulation of cooling water, and having in their upper surfaces the intersecting seating grooves 25 furthe bottom of the valve. A. hollow column'26 rises from the outer end of each arm ofthe base, these columns being set in the masonry 2 in the manner vclearly shown in Fig. 3. The top portion of the seating member constitutes an annular trough v27., which rests upon the upper ends of the columns 26.

rlhevalve consists of a Hat diametrically extending apron portion 28, made hollow for the reception of cooling water and which is joined a-t its upper end to a circular open water pan 29, having the outwardly flared wall 30, from'lthe upper end of which depends a vertical sealing Hange 31. The, in-

ner wall 27a of thetrough 27 of the' seating member is preferably Hared upwardly and outwardly, as clearly shown in Fig. 8, so as to form a substantially close Ht with the flared wall 30 of the pan 29. The valve is carried by a vertical shaft '32, extending downwardly within the portion 28 and having suitable lifting connections 33 with the pan 29. This shaft may be rotated in lany suitable manner, as by means ofthe lever 34, shownin Fig. 1. The shaft is provided at its lower4 end with the extension 32"4 which has a bea-ring in a sleeve 32EL in the central portion of the bottom'of the seating member or base 24 (see Fig. 8l. It may also be moved vertically to raise and lower the valve out of and intothe seating grooves 25 by any suitable means, such as the lifting lever 35, actuated by the piston 36 of a power cylinder 37. The piston rod 36fis preferably counterweighted as shown at 38. v

Each vertical column 26 has at one of its inner corners a. hollow 'oHsetI 26a, these 0H- sets forming the seating surfaces for the edges of the valve in its closed positions, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. rQlhe valve moves through an angle of 90 from one closed po sition to the other. 'lo move the valve, it is first raised out of the seating grooves 25 and is then turned. This preliminary raising movement of the valve serves to overcome the seals formed by carbon depositsfrom the gases, so that when raised, it canfturn freely i portion of the valve apron 28 the shaft 32 has the water discharge arms 39. rlhe entering cold water is thusk discharged at the lower portion of the apron 28. As it becomes heated, it rises and passes into the water pan 29, through openings 29a, formed inl the bottom of the pan. The pan is provided with four overHow spouts 40, which are so positioned that each of them will discharge into the funnel-shaped upper end 4l of a vertical pipe 4,2, said funnel-shaped ends being located within the sealing trough 27. One of the pipes 42 extends downwardly within each hollow column 26, and is thence carried horizontally through one of the hollow arms of the cruciform base, discharging at 43 at the central portion thereof. The water so discharged rises through the columns 26 andthrough the open upper ends 27" of the columns and into the trough. ln this manner, the cold water introduced into the va-lve apron Hrst Hows upwardly within the apron, thence into the-water pan 29., thence through t-he overflow spout 40, and downthrough the pipes 42 into the base of the seating member.v ylt then rises through the hollow columns of the seating member v into the sealing trough at the top thereof.

With the valve inthe position shown in Fig. 3, the gas enters the port3, and thence Hows into the gas Hue 6. llhe How through said port is controlled by the damper 22. The returning hot gases from the furnace Acome into the valve chamber 5 through the port 7, and thence passes through the Hue8 to the stack 9. inasmuch as the Hue 3, chamber 5 and Hues 6, 7 and8 are allat the same level, it will be seen that the gas has a straight sweep through the valve chamber and past the valve, instead of being compelled to take an up and down pass, as is customary in reversing valves, as heretofore generally used. v

the air inlet valve controlling the air Ainlet port 17 is open and the other airr inlet valve 18 is closed, the air passes into the port l0 and returns through the port 11, thence to the Hue 12`and the stack, the How being controlled by the dampers l5 and 16. This arrangement ofl air inlet Hues and dampers obviates the necessity for an airreversing valve.

lt willwbe noted that the gases passing `through the gas-reversing valve chamber are seal isformed in both positions of the valve,

not only at its edges, vbut also across its entire bottom which is resting within the grooves 25; The top of the valve is also' `efficiently protected by the water inA the` pan-29.

The arrangement shown in Figs. 4 and 5 is generally similar to that shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and corresponding parts have the .same reference characters as'm Figs. 1 and 3, but with the letter a applied thereto. The arrangement differs from thatV shown in Figs. 1 and?, mainly in that a single air inlet 44 is employed, controlled by valve 45, which is shown as similar to one of vthe valves 18. This inlet communicates with a.

ue 46, from which the air flues 10a a'nd'lla lead, an air-reversing valve 47 being located at the junction. of the flues 46, 10a and 11B. The gas inlet port 48 is also shown as entering the gas-reversing air chamber in ya slightly different manner from that shown in Figs. 1 andl 3.

The advantages of my invention are many,

some of them having been heretofore pointed out. The flue lconstruction is greatly simplified, and in the preferred form, the air-reversing'valve is done away with.` The valve construction and arrangement is a very simple and practical one,y and gives great durability and efhciency. By throwing the `gas-reversing valve to a middle position, the

gas may be allowed t0 sweep directly past the valve int'the stack, for the purpose of blowing out the valvechamber, etc.

I claim: l l1. -In valve apparatus for reversing regenerati-ve furnaces, a seating member com-v prising a cruciform base having valve-seatgrooves therein, columns rising from said base, an annular water trough supported by saidicolumns, and a vertically movable oscillating valve .arranged to seat in circular top provided with adepending flange extending into the water trough to' form a water seal, substantially as described.

2. In valve apparatus for reversing regenerative furnaces, a seating member com prising a cruciform base having valve-seatinggrooves therein, columns rising from said base, an annular water trough supported by said columns, and a vertically movable oscillating valve arranged to seat inthe rooves of-the base, saidvalve having a circular to lprovided with a depending flange exten ing into the water trough Vto v:lorm a water seal,`said flange and the Aported by said columns, and a vertically inner wall of the water trough fitting each other to form a guard to prevent .the gases passing through the valve chamber from coming into Contact with the water from said trough, substantially as described 3. In vvalve apparatus, for reversing regenerative 'furnaces, a sea-ting member comprising a cruciform base having valve-seating grooves therein, columns rising from said base, an annular water trough supmovable oscillatin valve arranged toseat in the grooves of t e base, said valve having a circular to provided with a: depending flange exten ing into the water trough to form a water seal, and the circular top of the valve forming a water pan, substantially as described. Y

4. In valve apparat-us for `reversing regenerative furnaces, a seating member'comprising a cruciform base' having valveseating grooves therein, columns rising from said base, an annular water trough supported by said columns, and a vertically movable oscillating valve arranged to seat in the grooves of the base, said valve having a circular top provided with a depending .flange extending into the water trough to forma wateij'seal, together withmeansv for circulating water -through the base and columns of the seating Amember and also through the valve, substantially as described.

5. In valve apparatus for reversing regenerative furnaces, a seating member having a cruciform base, the arms of which are hollow, a hollow verticalY post risin .from each arm, an annular water troug .supported'on the upper end of the columns and communicating therewith, a valve, member comprising a vertical apronportion and a circular top portion lhaving a depending "flange adapted, to enter said., trough, and` means for circulating cooling water-' successively through the valve and. then through the seating member and into thev said trough, substantially as described..

6. In val-ve mechanism for reversing regenerative furnaces, a 'seating member comprising a hollow cruciform, base, a hollow vertical column' rising from each arm of the base,l an annular trough. supported on the upper ends ofthe columns and communieating with them, a valve comprising a flat apron "portion and a circular top portion with a depending sealing flange arranged toevtend into said trough, a hollow actuating shaft. for the valve, said shaft extending within the valve and acting as 4a water lsupply fordischarging Water into the lower part of the valve, the valvefhaving a water pan" at its top communicating with the interior of the valve properand said'pan having. overflow openings `communieating `with wat'erpassages leading into `said hollow' columns, vsubstantially as described, v

7. ln valve apparatus of the character described, a seating member having a hollow base, hollow columns, and an annular sealin g ltrough supported on said columns, said parts having communicating water-circu-- wardly through the columns and into the horizontally outwar base thereof, and the valve having overHows arranged to discharge into `the upper ends of said pipes, substantially as described.

8. A valve and Hue arrangement for. reversing regenerative furnaces, comprising a setting having a gas-reversing valve chamber, a gas-reversing valve therein, regenerator ports leading horizontally outwardv from opposite sides of said chamber, a gas supply port leading horizontally into a third. side of the chamber,- a stack port leading horizontally, outward from the side opposite the gas inlet port, said ports and chamber being all at substantially the same horizontal level, the vsetting also having air Hues leading in oppoksite directions to the regenerators, and each of said Hues having a separate air inlet, a stack Hue with which bot-h air Hues communicate, and a damper in each of t-he air Hues between its air inlet and the point where it communicates with the stack Hue; substantially as described.

9. A valve and Hue arrangement for reversing regenerative furnaces, comprising a setting having a' gas-reversing valve chambera gas-reversing valve therein, regenerator ports leading horizontally outwardly'4 from opposite sides of said chamber, a gas supply vport leading horizontally into` a third side of the chamber, a stack port leading horizontally outwardly from thel side opposite the gas supply port,said ports and chamber being all at the same horizontal level and la regulating damper in each of the regenerator Hues, the setting also having Va stack Hue extending below said valve chamber, and the regenerator ports communicating with said stack Hue, an air inlet in each of said ports, and a damper between each air inlet and the point where the corresponding port communicates with flue, substantially as described.

10.' A valve and Hue arrangement for revrsing regenerative furnaces, comprising a setting having' a gas-reversing valve chamber, a gas-reversing valve therein, said valve being arranged/for both vertical and oscillating movement, regenerator pots leading "ly from opposite sides of said chamber, a -gas supply port leading horizontally into a' third side ofthe chamber,an'd a stack port leading horizontally outwardly from t e side opposite the gas the stackl Loemaa supply port, said ports and chamber being all at the same level, and the valve being arranged to pass the gas from the inlet Hue into either regenerator Hue and from either regenerator Hue into the stack Hue without changing the level thereof,.substantially as described;

11. In valve apparatus' for reversing regenerative furnaces, a valve chamber having a plurality of Hues communicating therewith, a seating member at the bottom of said chamber comprising a hollowcruciform base r having valve-seating grooves' therein, a valve member mounted for partial rotation about a vertical axis and arranged to be also moved vertically into and out of said grooves, said valve having a top portion forming a complete cover for the chamber when the valve is seated, and said cover having a depending flange, and a water trough around the -top of said chamber and into which said Hange depends, substantially as described.

l2. A valve and Hue arrangement for reversing regenerative furnaces, comprising a settinghaving a gas-reversing valve chamber, a gas-reversing valve therein, regenerative ports leading outwardly from opposite sides Y,of said chamber, a gas inlet port leading into a third side of the chamber, and a stack port leading outwardly from the side oppo-` site the gas inlet port, said'ports and chamber being all at the same level, the setting also having two air Hues leading to the regenerators, a 'valved air inlet'for each Hue, a stack Hue communicating with both ,the air Hues and extending'underneath said chamber, and a controlling damper between each air inlet and the stack Hue, substantially as described. v

13. Valve apparatus of the character described, comprising a hollow cruciform base a hollow column rising from each arm of the base, an annular water trough supported on the upper ends :of the columns and communicating therewith, eachcolumn having at one corner a hollow inwardly projecting valve-seating offset, anda vertically movable and oscillating valveA arranged to seat in twopositions in said base and to seat and seal at its edges against said oHsets,

substantially as described.

14. Valve apparatus of the character de- A scribed, comprising a valve chamber having a gas supply port leading horizontally intov one side of said chamber, a stack port leading horizontallyfat the opposite side of said chamber, regenerator ports leading horizontally outward from the other two Isides of 'grooves therein, an annular water trough supported at the topof the-chamber, and

lsaid valve havinga circular top provided 1180 with a depending flange extending into said trough to form a seal; substantially as described.

15. Valve apparatus of the character described, comprising a valve chamber having a gas supply port leading horizontally into one side of said chamber, a stack port leading horizontally at the opposite side of said chamber, regenerator ports leading horizontally outward from the other two sides of said chamber, a gas reversing valve seated in said chamber to be oscillated about a vertical axis, a cruciform base at the bottomof said chamber having valve-seating grooves therein, an annular Water trough supported at the top of the chamber, 'and said valve having a circular top provided with a depending flange extending into said trough to form a seal, said trough having an upwardly and outwardly inclined inner wall, and the circular top of the valve having a flaring inset portion arranged to fit said inner Wall; substantially as described.

16. Valve apparatus for reversing regenerative furnaces, a seating member comprising a cruciform base having valve-seating grooves therein, hollow columns rising from the arms of said base, an annular trough at the upper ends of said columns, and a vertically movable oscillating valve arranged to seat in the grooves of the base, said valve p' having a circular top provided with a depending llange which seats within said trough, said trough, the columns and the cruciform base having communicating watercirculating spaces; substantially as described. a

17. In valve apparatus for' reversing regenerative urnaces, a seating member comprising a cruciform base having valve-seating grooves therein, columns vrising from said base, an annular Water trough supported by said columns, and a vertically movable oscillating valve arranged to seat in the grooves of the base, said valve having a circular top provided with a depending flange extending into the water trough to form a water seal; said trough having an outwardly flared inner wall, andthe top having an inset flared portion to fit said wall; substantially as described.

y In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

. LUTHER L. KNOX Witnesses:

H. M. CoRWIN,

GEO. H- PARMELEE. 

